Saturday, November 29, 2008

OK – I realize it's not Friday anymore. But I couldn't let number 100 pass by without putting in my two cents. So, better late than never, here are my Friday Fill-Ins on Saturday:

1. My stomachis very glad Thanksgiving is over, but very happy that it got to enjoy some of its favorite eats.

2. Too much of everythingis what I ate the most of on Thursday. (Probably not a very original thought today, I know.)

3. The yard is just a fond memory for me, since moving into the highrise condo. (We have a park out front, but it's not the same as having one's own yard.)

4. Anywhere my hubby isis where I'd rather be at any given time. (As long as he's not wearing that brown fleece vest that makes him look like he should be crouching in a bog somewhere, waiting for shot at some ducks.)

5. The smell ofOld Spice aftershavereminds me ofmy father. (This was a tough one. So many things come to mind.)

6. Alka-Seltzeris what I need right now!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to(well, technically "tonight" is over now and I was looking forward to watching "The Polar Express" on TV, and I did watch it and enjoyed it once again – why don't I just buy the DVD, I wonder?), tomorrow my plans includegrocery shopping and getting all our errands run because it's supposed to snow or rain or both on Sunday, and Sunday, I want tostay out of the bad weather, address some Christmas cards, and get some reading done!

This photo was taken almost exactly three months ago. Early morning, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It was warm and humid.

Well, I'm no longer at the beach. And this morning it's a nice cozy 33 degrees outside, with rain predicted for later in the day. Perfect Blue Monday weather.

Blue Monday is hosted by Smiling Sally. Be sure to visit her website to find more entries, or to share your own Blue Monday photos. Also, please check out my Random Photo Monday post for yet another Monday morning image.

Friday, November 21, 2008

November 21 – can you believe Christmas is just a little over a month away? Just the thought makes me start hyperventilating. But another Friday Fill-Ins should calm me right down. So here goes.

1. The last band I saw live was _____________. Wow. This is a hard one – it's been a couple of generations or so since I went out anywhere to listen to music of any kind. The last time I can remember going to anything musical was one of Townes Van Zandt's last appearances, with Guy Clark, at the Birchmere in Arlington VA. And since Townes died in 1997, you can see I'm not much of a live music junkie. Used to be. Not now. So, to answer the actual question –the last band I saw live was (I think) New Riders of the Purple Sage (no, really) in Shreveport, Louisiana, sometime in the late 1970s.

2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving ishaving someone else do the cooking. Never happens, but I just go right on looking forward to it. Year after year after year after year....

3. My Christmas/holiday shopping isnot as much fun as it used to be before I started doing it all online. More efficient, but no fun – I don't get to play with any of the toys.

6. Bagpipesseem to be something you either hate or love. I love them. When I hear bagpipes, I want to put on my kilt, grab a few scones, and run out and roll in the peat.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward tostaying in, and away from the snow we're supposed to be getting (but so far have no sign of, thank goodness) and maybe addressing some Christmas cards,tomorrow my plans includerunning errands and going to the craft storeand Sunday, I want toget some reading done!

This little blue house is the “Spite House,” in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Located on Queen Street, it was originally built in 1830 by John Hollensbury who owned one of the adjacent houses and wanted to keep loiterers and noisy horse-drawn wagons out of his alley.

The house is two stories high and only seven feet wide, and has about 330 square feet of living space. It’s a private residence, so you can’t look inside unless you know the owners. But that bright blue color certainly helps it stand out from its neighbors, doesn’t it?

Added later: I hadn’t thought about it at the time I first put this up this morning, but this sort of fits in with Smiling Sally’s Blue Monday meme. See other offerings or participate yourself by visiting her blog.

5. That's the thing I love most aboutgoing to the supermarket - bringing home the chocolate!

6. Anything made of chocolatealways makes me think to myself, what the heck?(Do we see a pattern developing here?)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to – well, after all this I’m looking forward to raiding the pantry and scarfing down as much chocolate as I can find, tomorrow my plans includeshopping and spending the evening watching a DVD of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,”and Sunday, I want tomaybe see some sunshine after all this misty weather, and get some reading done!

Monday, November 10, 2008

M and I spent some time in Old Town Alexandria over the weekend, and I found this great group on a doorstep. Looking a bit worse for wear, wouldn't you say? That one on the far right looks exactly like I look when I get out of bed in the mornings.

Monday, November 3, 2008

We’ve been back from our Texas trip for a few days now, but I’m still readjusting. Not waking up in a hotel room every morning is very nice. And even better is not sitting in the car for eight or nine hours everyday.

Of course, I really enjoyed the trip. It was great seeing family and friends again – it had been a couple of years since our last visit. But the drive between Virginia and Texas is a long, long ordeal. Funny – it didn’t seem quite so long when I wasn’t quite so elderly!

Anyway, this photo is pretty representative of the view I’ve had for the last few weeks.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

The Texas Longhorns drive me crazy! I’m never watching another UT game! And this time, I really mean that.

OK, I know I said I was looking forward to watching a DVD tonight, but what we really did was spend the evening watching the UT / Texas Tech game. Well, loyal Texas Exes and all that. But I don’t know why M and I do this to ourselves – we get so totally wrapped up in the games and then we’re totally freaked when they lose.

Hmmmm. Perhaps this is all just a mite too vehement, but I was really hoping for an unbeaten season. When I was at UT back in the Mesozoic Era, I wasn’t much of a football fan. But in recent years, what with Vince Young and now Colt McCoy at quarterback, the games have been so exciting they’ve lured me in.

And what a great name McCoy has, doesn’t he? I mean when you name a kid Colt McCoy, he pretty much just has to grow up to be a star quarterback, right? Well, that or a country-western singer.

I have no idea where I’m going with this. Just venting, I guess. I can’t believe those stupid Longhorns lost that game. Even though the Red Raiders were pretty overwhelming.

Haven’t participated in the Fill-Ins for a few weeks. And I’m late getting to them this week. Oh, well, better late than not at all – so here goes:

1. My favorite food seasoning is _____________. Well, I guess it would have to be salt, wouldn’t it? I know that doesn’t sound very exotic or interesting, but I’d hate to have to do without.

2. Somebody announcing that “The 2008 Presidential election is finally over”iswill be music to my ears.

3. Lucky ishaving a maid to clean the bathrooms.

4. Winteris something I take very seriously. And it’s coming on much too fast around here.

5. Many peopleare voting early this year – and I’m beginning to wish I’d done that, too.

6. Weight Watchers Boston Crème Pie Yogurtwas the last thing I bought at the store.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _____ (well, technically that was last night and I was looking forward to watching scary movies all evening which I did), tomorrow today my plans includeshopping, taking a bunch of summer clothing over to the storage place and bringing back a pile of winter stuff, and watching our latest Netflix DVD this evening, and Sunday, I want toget some reading done – I haven’t had much book time lately!